Food Stories is a column in which Best of Vegan community members share recipes from their cultures and personal stories connected to those dishes. Today, Val & Mani Latifi of Plant-Based Passport share their recipe for Vegan Persian Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh (Barberry Rice with “Chicken”), a veganized Persian classic. This recipe was featured in the new weekly BIPOC Portraits series by Val and Mani where they profile vegan creators and shed light on the unique challenges BIPOCs face in making the decision to embrace veganism. Click here to see the full article.
Our Vegan Persian Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh is healthy, hearty, and full of tradition. This classic Persian dish was one of Mani’s favorite recipes growing up, so we were thrilled to come up with our own delicious vegan version of his mom’s recipe.
Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh is essentially a rice pilaf. The dish is traditionally composed of dried barberries (zereshk), chicken (morgh), and basmati rice (polo). The chicken sits on top of a bed of saffron rice studded with tiny dried barberries. We substitute young green jackfruit for the chicken. Jackfruit is a literal sponge for flavor and emulates the meatiness and texture of the chicken. Our vegan version Zereshk Polo Ba Morgh has all the comforting flavors of the Persian classic, and you’d never be able to tell it’s vegan!
Ingredients
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp vegan butter - divided
- 3 tbsp salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 14-oz cans of young green jackfruit, drained
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning
- 2 tbsp olive oil - divided
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4 carrots - peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- ⅓ cup + 1 cup water - divided
- 3 tbsp dried barberries - Alternatively, substitute finely chopped cranberries
- 1 tsp of saffron threads - crushed, and bloomed in 3 tbsp hot water
Instructions
- Prepare rice: Rinse rice until water is clear. Add rice to a large bowl and add enough water to cover the rice by 2 inches. Mix in 3 tbsp of salt. Cover and soak rice for at least 20 minutes (The longer the better).
- Parboil rice: Bring a pot of water to boil. Then drain rice, add to boiling water, and parboil for 3 minutes. You want the rice to be al dente (but not fully cooked). Drain the rice and set aside.
- Cook rice: Heat 2 tbsp butter over medium heat in a separate pot. Add ⅓ cup water to the pot. Layer the rice over the pot, making sure it’s evenly distributed. Tear off enough paper towel sheets to create a double layer of coverage over the pot. Place the paper towels over the pot, and secure the lid tightly over the paper towels. Depending on the strength of your burner, reduce heat to low or medium-low (our burner is weak, so we reduce to medium-low). Cook at least 1 hour. The rice at the bottom of the pot will form a crispy bottom called a tahdig.
- Cook jackfruit: Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Whisk 1 tbsp olive oil with poultry seasoning and a pinch of salt & pepper. Remove seeds from and slice jackfruit. Toss jackfruit evenly in the seasoning mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add baked jackfruit, turmeric, carrots, vinegar, and 1 cup water. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. Remove from heat.
- In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp butter on medium-low heat. Add ½ cup of cooked rice, barberries and saffron, and cook until rice has absorbed the liquids (about 1 minute). Top the remaining basmati rice with your saffron-barberry rice mixture and serve with your jackfruit. Enjoy!
Notes
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Recipe and photos by Val and Mani Latifi.
